Redefine success with OKR Frameworks in 2023

Sustainable Performance and success in 2023!

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

John Wooden

A new year is ‘upon us and as we make strong attempts to both make sense of, and find effective antidotes for the after-effects of covid and other global events, certain prominent challenges such as persistently low levels of engagement, ‘the great resign’ and ‘quiet quitting are presenting themselves. Whether these specific challenges and others present themselves as dilemmas, chronic problems, or symptoms of other problems it is up to us as teams to find both effective and sustainable solutions.

In the workplace, people are well aware of who is being promoted, who earns the highest salaries, and who reaches the top position. If it is you, you have succeeded. In this way, we all learn and accept competition and win-lose situations.

What can an individual do in this kind of environment to ensure a reasonable slice of the cake? He needs to compete more vigorously in order to win. When winning is achieved by these methods it comes at a very high cost and might not be sustainable.

Is this competition and winning also important from the organization’s point of view? Generally speaking, organizations are not interested in competition and winning per se, although many organizational practices, rules, and values encourage competition.

The organization is focused on the development of its members and managing their performance in order to realize its goals. Organizations are therefore also conducive environments for competition and win-lose situations. Winning, losing, competition, and rewards are used as mechanisms for encouraging better performance.

In general, the societies in which we are a part also define success as winning or losing. This view neglects one of humankind’s most basic characteristics– the existence of individual differences in skills, abilities, and potential both physical and psychological. Even the best education, training, and commitment cannot level this playing field between individuals.

Read this revealing Harvard Business Review article on ‘winning at all cost’:

https://hbr.org/2008/05/when-winning-is-everything

We need to redefine success as we have all witnessed the harm ‘a winning at all cost culture can do :

Success = the extent to which you develop your own potential.

Success is one thing, and achieving sustainable success is more complex. If success was achieved by compromising personal and company values it cannot be sustained.

The disadvantages of the ‘winning at all cost model’

Although the individual ‘win success criterion’ is so commonly used it has many disadvantages which you will also be able to recall from your own experiences. One is that there can be only a limited amount of winners in every situation, in many cases only one winner, but many losers. Mostly, even the silver medal winner in a sport event is seen as ‘the best of the losers.

Another disadvantage is that many people, who experience failure, feel that they are failures, merely because they did not win. What can we suggest as an alternative for winning as a success criterion?

If we rather view success as the extent to which each individual develops, uses, and realizes his or her potential – the playing field becomes far more level. It simultaneously serves as an incentive for personal development.

It also shifts the evaluation of performance on the basis of outside criteria (the performance of others) to you and your development as a norm – which is an intrinsic success criterion.

Now you no longer compete against other people, but against yourself. It further implies that you no longer approach performance as an end result (to win) but as a process (unleashing and using potential).

It is a well-known fact that we only use a fraction of our own potential. Some psychologists are convinced that most of us only realize less than 5% of our potential during our lives. They say that even the super achievers’ amongst us: The Einsteins’, Da Vincis, Mozarts’ – have realized less than 10% of their potential.

It is your role as a coach and/or leader to unleash the potential of teams and individuals and redefine success.

Join our OKR courses to learn how to avoid the pitfalls of the ‘winning at all cost mindset’:

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Become a servant leader through OKR Frameworks

P (Performance) = P (Potential) – I (interference)

OKRs when effectively deployed by servant leaders can be a conduit to unleash people’s and teams’ potential. With a focus on all the elements of the performance ecosystem’ such as for example, purpose, inclusiveness and collaboration, OKR frameworks can ensure a very successful 2023.

We all have potential. There are however a plethora of both internal and external factors that can cause interference with the actualization of potential. It is an art to both unleash individual potential and form a high-performing and united team. Both strong leadership and a culture that is inclusive and growth orientated are required to create an environment that is most optimal for the development of people and teams.

To unleash the potential of teams you must demolish or at the very least remove most of that which interferes with potential:

• Limiting beliefs
• Controlling managers/bosses
• fears and doubts
• Insecurities
• Inability to embrace useful change
• winning at all cost mentality
• Stifling toxicity
• Fixed mindsets
• Entitlement
• lack of discipline

Deploying a supportive and coaching style of leadership that honors the differences between people, galvanizes people around an inspiring vision, shares values, fosters collaboration, and creates shared goals, you are effectively empowering people and providing a training ground for self and team actualization.

When the spirit of servant leadership is alive and well within your OKR frameworks they are likely to be more sustainable and more successful.

It all starts with how you hire and onboard people. Ensure as far as is humanly possible that you hire people :

• With a growth mindset
• With Integrity
• With a strong desire to learn
• that finds stretch goals inspiring

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